I am currently with RMLS, and over the last couple years have been frustrated with the level of service they are giving their members. I and a few brokers represent about 1000 agents, and are seriously considering leaving to go to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Board of Realtors. So I decided to have a tele-conference call with the Board of Realtors and RMLS to express my concerns and give them the opportunity to make myself and the agents we represent feel good about possibly some changes and upgrades in their customer service.
The call was supposed to be a very cordial professional call to explain our concerns. Instead it turned into what it always seems to be with the RMLS and that is:
- Defensive
- Condescending
- Smug
- An Attack
This was the president of the board of directors that is supposed to be helpful and serve its members impartially that really was so out of line I was absolutely appalled. The problem with the RMLS is that they will never get it. They have this entitlement and power attitude that they do not need to serve its members as we will never leave them. Well, although we were considering leaving the RMLS prior to this phone call we already have meetings lined up with the other boards and have one foot out the door.
It is this attitude that continues to me prevalent throughout the staff of RMLS. Customer Service is so imperative in this day and age. Customers demand it. I thought we were the customers, but are not treated as such. We would rather be at a MLS that appreciates us than one that could care less.
This is in know way a reflection on the realtors association of the palm beaches (RAPB) as I believe they have been very helpful. The reason why we are leaving is because of the attitudes of the RMLS. Who has time to fight with their board these days. Especially one that fails to appreciate its members.
David Serle
Vice President/Managing Broker
RE/MAX Services
561-912-3500 Office
561-912-3502 Direct
561-756-3104 Mobile
What is stopping you from creating a second MLS? There are plenty of broker owned MLS in this country.
The beauty of the Internet is your ability to voice an opinion about the rights and wrongs of a customer service interaction. From your blog post and a little research, it looks your Real Estate company has less than 75 agents out of the 11,000+ RMLS customers. But you were able to 'call a meeting' with the Board to address your concerns using the "I and a few brokers representing 1,000 agents" angle. The reaction to your concerns obviously didn't meet your expectations which is completely unfortunate for everyone involved as I am sure the board members walked away from the meeting upset as well. From my perspective, it sounds like they are listening especially if you were able to engage the board of directors (busy brokers such as yourself). How about another try? Maybe a direct sit down with the CEO in your office to discuss how she can better meet your expectations?
Just a thought.
Kind of an interesting comment. Thank you for your comment, but it seems as though you may have either been somehow involved in that call. I do not use angles to get my concerns heard. I have with just a little effort have 5 brokers that represent almost 1000 real estate agents which represents 12% of the RAPB membership ready to leave if we do not get better service from our RMLS. We only say this because it is not just 75 agents speaking up. There is a serious problem with RMLS. They need to change the way they treat their members.
The biggest problem with RMLS is that RAPB owns 80% of the membership, but only has 1/3 of the vote. If RMLS would go back to being a vendor then they would be fighting to be the best company they could be.
The attitude is the biggest concern of mine. We are consumers. We are their clients, and yet they treat us like they do not need our business.
We did indeed have that sit down today, but only with RAPB. It went well and I am hoping that they will be able to shake things up a little.
If I acted the way RMLS does on a daily basis I would have no business.
Totally agree with your comments about consumers, clients, and service organizations. And you absolutely have the right to express your concerns about the level of service being offered. No, I was definitely not involved in the call but rather just responding to your blog post here venting your frustration at what seems to be an untenable situation.
I don't understand how the ownership issue relates to your concerns about the levels of customer service as RMLS is 100% REALTOR Association owned.
Again, I do believe, based on the teleconference with RMLS board members, you have an opportunity to strengthen a relationship directly with RMLS executives rather than jump ship to Fort Lauderdale. Fort Lauderdale is 1 of 5 associations in the SE Florida Regional MLS and each association has two votes (my math says this is really 1 out of 5 as what assocation would cancel its own vote) at the MLS level. So your 1,000 agents would become part of 10,000 agents which are part of 30,000+ agents.
Definitely valid points, and i appreciate them. We would like to work things out with RMLS, but if nothing changes, and it stays status quo then we would be forced to leave. The last thing I would want to do is to go through the moving of all the agents to another board. There would be a learning curve and may lose agents because of it so I know the risks, but that is why we are trying to express our concerns prior to it coming to that. We are definitely at our wits end, and I believe that many of the RMLS staff should be fired. I know if I was hired to see what was wrong with RMLS the first thing I would do was fire a top person in RMLS so the rest would either get on the ship or be let go as well. I do not run my companies that way, and do not like to be treated as such. Did you know that the Greater Fort Lauderdale Board has half as many employees servicing more members then RMLS? They not only service the board, but the MLS system as well. They do a phenomenal job with customer service. Maybe some of their systems are antiquated, but many of them are serviceable.
The reason why I brought up the ownership part is because they seem to cater to the North Palm Beach membership of the board. Any large meeting or training seems to always be in Palm Beach Gardens. If we break our token (which when it was first introduced they had a demonstration how the token was indestructible. Obviously they never let realtors try it first) or need help with Supra or any other RMLS issue we have to travel an hour north to get it replaced or fixed.
I remember one time I mailed my token express to their headquarters, but did not have a padded envelope so RMLS called me up and said we got your package with your letter, but the token was not in it. That I should have sent it in a padded envelope so you owe $45 now. So they got my package and my letter, but surprisingly no token. Please.
Anyway, we could go on and on. All I want is better customer service. If RMLS were nice, and helpful and accommodating then traveling an hour once or twice a year would not be a big deal, but because they are nasty, rude, and not helpful it magnifies the minor issues.
David, what are the specific issues (besides the token & classes) with RMLS? I never tried another board, nor thought I'd need to, but I'd really like to hear what's going on with this issue. Over the past couple of years, I've watched quite a few agents from Boca Raton relocate to the Fort Lauderdale MLS, but I never knew why.
Can you be more specific?
THANKS,
Scott Miller
The main problem I have from RMLS is customer service. They make everything so tough for its agents.
For example: RMLS finally after years of begging them put a person in the Boca Board. She only lasted about a month. It took them over a month to come up with someone to come down there 2 days a week, but the only way anyone knows that is if you either called the Boca Board or went down there. RMLS does not educate their subscribers.
That is just a small example of what I am referring to. There are so many issues with the CEO and top levels of RMLS in their attitudes, and unless you are on their good side or in their clique they do not help you. I am a broker of 60 agents. You would think I would be treated as an valued member and client of their organization. I believe they have to start firing people at the top and everything will fall in place. Kind of like the old adage
"A Fish smells from the Head Down"